A Night with My Senior (1)
In front of Humanities College Lecture Hall 601.
A low murmur of voices. A restless hubbub.
I stood awkwardly leaning against the wall. As a recent transfer student, the only face I knew was Senior Eugene. It wasn't like I'd joined any clubs. I'd shown up early enough, but hanging around alone was getting pretty stifling.
Ah, there she is.
Through the crowd, a familiar hairstyle caught my eye. It was Senior Eugene. Wearing the department jumper, clipboard in one hand, she was busily barking out instructions.
"Senior."
"Oh, you're here? Don't know anyone yet, huh?"
She gave my shoulder a light smack and grinned.
"Hang tight for a bit. We'll listen to the professors, go through the budget report, and once that's roughly done, we're heading straight to a bar. I'll introduce you to everyone then."
"You look pretty busy, Senior. Do you even have time to look after me?"
"I'm not busy. I just jumped in 'cause watching them flounder was painful. And if I don't look after you at a time like this, who will?"
She answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Up to this point, she was no different from the usual Kang Eugene. She'd always been the meddlesome type who loved looking after people.
That was when it happened.
"Oh, Kang Eugene! Looking dressed up today?"
A guy reeking of cologne, his hair plastered with what looked like a whole tub of wax, sauntered over. He seemed to be from her year, or maybe a year above.
"Sit next to me at the afterparty later. Oppa'll specially mix you some killer soju-beer bombs tonight. How about it?"
A painfully obvious pickup line, transparent as glass. Normally, Eugene's repertoire for situations like this was set in stone. She'd flash that signature smiling-eyes look of hers and go—
"Oh, really? I'm counting on you, Senior!"
—or something like—
"Oppa's buying the snacks too, right?"
—keeping the mood light and leaving the door cracked open. That was her passive skill — the one that left a trail of suffering men in its wake.
Will there be a change today?
I watched her reaction with keen interest.
"Ah… Oppa, I'm so sorry."
She smiled, but the smiling eyes never came. Instead, she took a tiny step back — just enough to match the distance he'd closed — putting space between them.
"I've got someone I need to keep an exclusive eye on today."
"Huh? Exclusive eye?"
As the guy's face went blank with confusion, she casually rested a hand on my shoulder.
"This is a junior who just transferred into our department. I'm the only person he knows, so I need to look after him for a while. If you want to drink, maybe next time. Next time."
"That so? A transfer student… Hmm."
Looking awkward, he gave me a once-over from head to toe, then cleared his throat and turned away.
"Yeah, well. Good luck with that."
His retreating back looked thoroughly dejected.
Which means…
Did it actually work? Had three days of effort finally paid off?
Once the guy was out of earshot, she let out a short sigh.
"Haa, does that oppa have zero social awareness? Why does he keep clinging every single day?"
"Didn't you used to play along with that kind of teasing?"
When I prodded her lightly, her eyes went round as if I'd said something outrageous.
"When did I ever? Look, if it was once or twice I wouldn't care, but that senior keeps at it. I've always hated that kind of cheap flirting. It's just exhausting."
She roughly swept her hair back, as if she genuinely believed every word. She really seemed to believe she'd always been the iron-wall, no-nonsense type.
"Anyway, don't go wandering off. Stick by my side today. Got it?"
She gave the tip of my sleeve a light tug and looked up at me. It wasn't the light goodwill of looking after a familiar underclassman like before. There was something oddly possessive mixed in — a sense of duty that she absolutely had to take care of me.
Was the diary feedback finally bearing fruit?
"…Got it. I'll stick with you and trust you completely, Senior."
"Good. Smart choice."
Only then did she smile, looking satisfied.
I could almost see a system window floating in the empty air before my eyes. Affinity increase? Hypnosis successful? Something like that.
After roughly two hours of the department general assembly, we headed to a typical campus-area samgyeopsal restaurant. The acrid smell of grilling meat and a raucous din hit us in waves.
"Ugh, seriously. Why'd they pick a place this far? My legs are killing me."
Eugene grumbled as she stepped into the restaurant. Between the end of the opening assembly and the move to the first round of drinks, the numbers had been cut in half. Freshmen who'd shown their faces and bolted, plus upperclassmen who couldn't be bothered with a drinking party, had all peeled off in droves.
What remained was roughly twenty to thirty people. As the crowd in department jumpers poured in, the four or five pre-set tables quickly filled up.
"Come this way. Let's sit in the corner."
She naturally tugged my sleeve and headed for a seat in the inner corner. On the table sat plates of raw pork belly wrapped in plastic, vegetables for wrapping, and a lineup of soju and beer bottles.
Just as I was about to sit, a mixed group already settled across from us waved at her.
"Oh? Senior Eugene! Sit over here!"
"Come over this way and grill some meat for us, Senior~"
One was a friendly-looking girl, the other a guy with yellow-dyed hair. A couple more students sat beside them.
"Why would I grill? You're the junior — you should be grilling."
She snorted and plopped down right next to me. Once she settled in, the students across the table naturally turned their eyes on me. Unfamiliar gazes, half wary, half curious.
"So, uh… who is this?"
The yellow-haired guy blinked and asked.
"Ah, everyone, say hi. This is Lee Seonghyun — he just transferred into our department. Came over from the College of Education."
She cracked apart a pair of wooden chopsticks as she introduced me.
"He's twenty-three, so even if you're the same year, he's your oppa and hyung. Get along, okay?"
At that, the expressions across the table shifted for a moment into something complicated. A transfer student. On top of that, a returning student plopped right into a second-year crowd. A combination practically designed for awkwardness.
"Hello. I'm Lee Seonghyun."
I gave a light nod, and the girl was first to smile brightly and bow her head.
"Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Park Minji. Welcome to the English Lit department."
"I'm Kim Taeho. Nice to meet you, hyung."
The yellow-haired guy, Kim Taeho, awkwardly dipped his head as well. After the formalities, Taeho started laying meat on the grill with practiced ease. With a sizzle, the savory smell of fat rose into the air.
"But getting into the College of Education is pretty competitive — why transfer? Seems like such a waste. Looking at English Lit, you were English Education, right?"
Park Minji asked as she poured water into a soju glass. The question I'd been hearing most often lately — and the one I least wanted to answer.
"Just didn't suit me at all. After doing some tutoring, I realized teaching kids is harder than I thought."
"Come on, tutoring and actual school teaching are different. Especially these days — teaching jobs are the absolute best."
You think I came here without knowing that?
"It just worked out that way."
Kim Taeho flipped the meat with tongs and shot Eugene a sidelong glance.
"So how does Noona know this hyung? You wouldn't have had any overlap. Or did you know each other from before?"
"Huh? We ran into each other tutoring the same student a while back. I tossed Seonghyun a few tutoring gigs."
"Ahh. Tutoring…"
Taeho nodded, then grinned and leaned slightly toward her.
"Noona, then introduce me to some tutoring gigs too. I got fired from my part-time job and I'm broke as hell. You've got connections everywhere."
Is this guy hitting on her too?
I pretended not to notice, fiddling with my soju glass while watching her reaction.
"You? Yeah, right. What tutoring is a guy who pulls all-nighters at the PC bang gonna do?"
Fortunately, she brushed off Taeho's gaze lightly and dumped a pile of garlic onto the grill.
"Aw, come on! I got a level-one on the CSAT English section! Hook me up with one gig and I'll treat you to a huge meal. Please?"
"Forget it. Why would I introduce a guy like you to my contacts just so I can get an earful later? And I don't do intros much these days. Too much hassle. At least have some experience before you even open your mouth."
Her voice was firm. A clean rejection that drew a clear line. A flush of embarrassment crossed Taeho's face.
"Well, if Noona doesn't want to, whatever."
He awkwardly scraped at the grill with the tongs. Watching this, Park Minji read the room and quickly changed the subject.
"Alright, alright, the meat's burning! Soju, anyone?"
"Ah, yes."
Glug, glug. Clear soju filled the glasses.
"Congrats on the transfer — wait, is that something you congratulate? Anyway, let's get along! Cheers!"
The bright clink of glass on glass rang out.
"Seonghyun, eat something. Drinking on an empty stomach wrecks your gut."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll take care of myself."
She placed a well-cooked piece of pork belly on my plate. Her gaze was fixed entirely on me. Following the chopsticks, the other two's eyes landed on me as well — enough to feel a little oppressive.
Subtle. This is subtle.
The feeling of goodwill that used to scatter among many people now concentrating on me like light through a magnifying glass… was somehow both pleasant and strange.
"Noona, why are you putting up such an iron wall today? You don't usually do this."
I wasn't the only one who'd noticed the change — a tipsy Taeho, a few rounds in, pouted and aired his grievance.
"When did I ever. I've always hated pointless talk."
"Last semester you went over to the seniors' table, took drinks, and hung out just fine?"
"Hey, that was a department event — I was just being polite. And today I've got a prior commitment. I'm the only person this guy knows. If I go off distracted somewhere else, like hell is he gonna have a good time."
She snapped back irritably and pressed even closer to my side. Close enough that our shoulders touched. Her signature scent, mixed with the smell of alcohol, tickled the tip of my nose. Slowly, the others' eyes started looking at the two of us with a peculiar glint.
"Are you two… maybe something?"
Park Minji, sitting across from us, clutched her soju glass in both hands and asked with sparkling eyes. The alcohol had made her curiosity even more blatant than before.
"Something, my ass."
"Aww, really?"
"Ugh, it's not like that. This guy was miserable in the College of Education 'cause it didn't suit him, and him coming to English Lit is half my fault. I kept dumping weird tutoring gigs on him until he got completely fed up. So I should at least take responsibility, right?"
There wasn't a shred of hesitation in her voice. But the reaction across the table was lukewarm.
"Noona, you usually find looking after people too much of a hassle."
"Like you know me so well."
"Still though. Maybe there's another reason?"
Kim Taeho and Park Minji went back and forth, grinning mischievously. Since she kept me glued to her side without pushing me away, none of them seemed to fully buy it.
"God, I'm telling you it's true! And this Lee Seonghyun doesn't even know the first letter of the word 'dating' — total virgin, never been in a relationship. What kind of flirting would I be doing with him?"
"Ah, come on. Senior."
"What. It's true."
She snickered and gave my shoulder a light smack. I was at a loss for words.
What am I even supposed to say to that?
Of course, it was all true…
As that empty conversation dragged on, a commotion started near the restaurant entrance. The drinking party was starting to wind down.
"Hey, Kang Eugene! You're coming to the second round, right? We booked a karaoke place over that way!"
One of her classmates came over to our table and called out to her.
"Nah, not going today. I'm tired."
Normally she would've stood up without a second thought — but today she shut it down cold.
"Huh? You're skipping the second round? What's gotten into you?"
"What, you think I just drink every single day? I'm heading out."
She stood up and lightly pulled me by the arm.
"Let's go, Seonghyun. You're headed the same way as me, right?"
"Ah, yeah."
"See you tomorrow, Senior~"
Looking around, people were starting to disperse anyway. We blended into the crowd pouring out and naturally left the restaurant. She'd drunk quite a bit, but there was no slurring or stumbling. Just a pleasant tipsiness.
We'd left the restaurant alley and reached the quiet entrance to the studio-apartment neighborhood when it happened. The night air was fairly cool. She raised both arms and stretched long and hard.
"Ugh, I thought I was gonna die from all that noise. You do okay today?"
"Eh, so-so."
"Hmm, I was gonna introduce you to more people, but we barely got to talk. You didn't exchange numbers either, right? I'll show you the department lounge next time."
"Yeah… that works for me."
I mumbled vaguely, gauging her mood. Honestly, ending it here felt way too anticlimactic. And it wasn't like I'd poured all that feedback in out of pure goodwill either.
If we part ways like this and the transfer effect wears off, she'll start putting distance between us just like with the other guys. Then I'll have to edit the diary again to stop it. Same cycle over and over.
I didn't want to take that long, complicated route. And I wanted to see just how far the feedback's effects would go.
I stopped walking under the streetlight in the alley.
"Senior."
"Hmm? What. Want me to buy you ice cream?"
"Would you hang out with me a little longer tonight?"